


For Old Time's Sake

by dilaurentisfields



Category: Pretty Little Liars
Genre: F/F, Humor, Romance, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-22
Updated: 2016-03-21
Packaged: 2018-05-08 12:17:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5496785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dilaurentisfields/pseuds/dilaurentisfields
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Well, if you’re asking me if there’s someone special in my life then the answer is no.” The blonde says with a laugh, causing Emily to look at her. “But I have been thinking about maybe getting a cat.”<br/>“A cat, really?” Hanna questions, making a face. “I never took you for a cat person.”<br/>“Who knows?” Alison answers, taking a long sip of her drink. “Maybe I am a cat person.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It’s a hot Friday night in Old Hollis, a subsection of Rosewood that houses the local college and respective students, as well as a few neglected bars here and there usually frequented by them. Despite being a part of Rosewood, Old Hollis is pretty different from the rest of town. It has the same old Victorian houses, but they’re painted in bright, vibrant colors and most of them have been split into apartments and rented to the Hollis students. The cobblestone streets are lined with old lamps, casting shadows of the few residents that walk by.

On a regular pre-weekend night, Old Hollis would be packed with college students making their way in and out of the local bars and bowling rink. But now, with most of the students spending the summer with their families out of the state, the town’s fairly quiet, the only people in there being its permanent residents and a few students from Rosewood High, trying to get into some of the bars using fake IDs.

It’s in one of these shabby, old bars that Emily Fields finds herself in this warm night of August, sitting on a stool and waiting for what would turn out to be the first round of drinks she’d be having that night.

She looks around for her friends but they’re nowhere in sight – Spencer and Aria had excused themselves to the restroom not long ago and Hanna had exited the bar to take on a work call just a few minutes later – so she sighs in annoyance and uses her hand as a mean to support her head while she waits.

Aria had called all the girls a couple weeks earlier, inviting them to a gallery opening she was having in Rosewood, and they’d all agreed to gather at The Pit the night before to celebrate the event. However, and to Emily’s displeasure, not everyone had made it back in time.

Right after college, Alison had moved to France where she got a job working as an English teacher, and while Emily got to see the rest of the girls plenty of times, it had been a while since she’d last landed eyes on Alison, and as much as she hated to admit it – as much as she hated to think about what it could mean – she’d really been hoping that she’d get to see the blonde tonight.

As it had happened many times before, Alison had gotten stuck with some last minute work and had missed her flight. She’d emailed Aria early in the morning explaining what had happened and apologizing, and that had been the last any of them had heard of the blonde for the day.

So now Emily drums her fingers on the counter with her free hand, occasionally flipping her phone upwards and waking up the screen, thinking that if she does it enough times maybe a message will miraculously appear.

But it never does and every time she just ends up flipping her phone again so the screen will face the wooden bar, too irritated to even look at it for long periods of time. It only adds to her irritation that both the drinks and her friends are taking way too long to make their way to her, and really she should’ve just made up some excuse and stayed home watching television and chatting with her mother.

She’s vaguely aware of someone sitting on the stool to her right, but she doesn’t think much of it. The brunette reaches for the small bowl of salted peanuts that’s in front of her and takes some out, figuring that if she’s going to have to stay there and wait, at least she can get something to eat in the process.

“Mind sharing?” She hears as she breaks out of her numb state only to look at her right. A guy in his mid-twenties is sitting on a stool, looking at her with a warm smile on his face, so she places the bowl between the two of them. “Thanks.”  He replies.

The guy has dark brown hair and tanned skin, pearly white teeth, as well as hazel eyes. He picks on a few of the peanuts as Emily continues to drum her fingers to the counter, and a couple of minutes go by until he speaks again.

“Waiting on someone?” The brown-haired guy asks.

“Just my drinks.” Emily replies, raising her voice at the last couple words to make sure the bartender hears – and he does, nodding at her as a silent apology for his forgetfulness.

The man sitting next to her chuckles and when Emily’s mouth turns into a shy smile, he holds out his hand. “Riley.” He says, introducing himself.

“Emily.” The brunette replies, shaking his hand.

“Nice name.” Riley says, a smile still on his face. “Are you new to Rosewood?”

“Not really.” Emily admits as Riley pulls his stool a few inches closer. “I lived here until graduation but moved to California afterwards.”

“Oh, a California girl.” He says jokingly. “I’ve lived here pretty much my whole life; I actually just graduated Hollis about two years ago. What do you back in Cali?”

She goes back to picking on the peanuts bowl and answers “I’m a swim coach.”

Riley raises his eyebrow. “So what made you ditch the beach and come back here? I’m sure California has a lot more to offer you than Rosewood does.”

At this point the bartender starts to bring her the drinks she’d been waiting for for what seems like a lifetime and Emily utters a quiet ‘thank you’ before her attention returns to Riley.

“A friend of mine is having a gallery opening tomorrow.” She says, arranging the drinks in front of her according to what each of her friends is having. “Maybe you’ve heard of her. Aria Montgomery?”

The name doesn’t seem to ring a bell, as Riley shrugs after a moment of trying to associate it to a person. Although she finds it weird that this guy has never heard of Aria, one of the most promising and known artists to ever make it out of Rosewood, Emily feels a little relieved that it only took five years for their names to somehow be erased of the town and its surroundings. The names and people everyone once associated with death and tragedy were now nothing but ordinary, and it felt good not to have people know her as the girl who was tormented by ‘A’. 

And she’s not that girl – not entirely, at least. She’s no longer the girl who was scared to be left alone in her own house, terrified someone would hurt her or take her away. That girl stayed in Rosewood when she left, or that’s what she likes to think… Truth be told, she still double checks the locks in her doors and windows every night.

She must get lost in her thoughts for a while, since the next time she hears Riley he’s gotten a little closer to her.

“Do you happen to need a date for this gallery opening?” he asks with hopeful eyes, his hand dangerously close to Emily’s knee.

The brunette feels a rush of blood coming to her cheeks, surprised by the question she was asked. Of _course_ he had been flirting with her the whole time. She stutters a little, trying to come up with a polite way of declining his offer, but she doesn’t get to do so as someone quickly comes between them.

“Hey babe!” An all-too-familiar voice says, sending a shiver down Emily’s spine, and she fears her mind’s playing games with her because _it can’t be_. But right before her eyes have the chance to adjust and take in the figure standing in front of her, the person bends over and plants a kiss on her cheek, barely grazing the corner of her lips. 

When the figure moves back, Emily’s heart skips a beat in realization. Standing in front of her is the very last person she’d expect to see that night, but the one she’d missed the most. Locks of blonde fall perfectly down familiar shoulders and icy blue eyes stare back at her expectantly, a nervous smile on the lips of the girl whose face she hadn’t seen for far too long.

“Alison?” Is all Emily’s capable of saying at first and it’s enough to make the blonde a little less anxious. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m sorry I’m so late.” She continues, placing her bag on the counter and shrugging off the small jacket she’d brought. “I got caught up with some work and missed my flight, but there was another one about half an hour later and I would’ve called but then my phone ran out of battery…” She sighs. “Just crazy really, I barely had time to drop my stuff at home and get here.”

Just as Emily’s processing what’s happening, Alison takes a quick peek over her shoulder only to find out Riley is nowhere in sight. She smiles to herself in content and takes his seat, turning her attention back to a speechless Emily.

“I apologize for the abrupt entrance.” The blonde jokes, figuring she has to be the one to continue the conversation for a little longer. “I met Hanna at the entrance and initially I was going to scare you but I figured you needed some help getting rid of whoever that guy was.”

Emily’s body gains conscience of its own as she moves forward and wraps her arms around Alison without a thought. Alison relaxes into the hug, her own hands meeting behind Emily’s back as she tightens their embrace. They can barely remember the last time they were this close, feeling the warmth of each other’s body, since every single one of the encounters they’d had in the previous months had been through the screen of a laptop.

The moment doesn’t last long, or at least not long enough, and they part themselves as Hanna returns from her phone call. “I see you found her.” She says to Alison, whose hand is now on Emily’s back. Hanna orders another drink for the newly arrived and motions for the girls to pick up the ones that are already on the counter and take them to a booth while she stays behind to get Ali’s.

They pick a booth that’s far enough from the loud music being played on speakers so they don’t have to shout to understand what the other is saying, and settle after placing everyone’s drinks on the table.

“It’s great to see you again, Em.” Alison says, allowing herself to really take in how much her friend has changed and how beautiful she is – even more so than when they were just teenagers. “You look amazing. California must be treating you well.”

“It’s been good…” She replies. “Kind of lonely but –”

She doesn’t get to finish her sentence as Aria and Spencer join them.

“But now we’re all together again.” Aria continues her sentence. Alison takes turns greeting her friends and it doesn’t take long until Hanna joins them with Alison’s drink.

The last time the five of them had all been together was last year’s Christmas. Since then, the one who had the most contact with Alison was Aria, who had moved to Amsterdam shortly after college. As for Hanna and Spencer, they both decided to stay in New York after finishing their studies there, leaving Emily alone on the other side of the country.

Most times she doesn’t really mind being all by herself. It’s freeing, in a way, to be in a new place and being given the chance to start fresh. But of course there are times when she misses having her friends close, especially since she hasn’t made any close friends back in Cali.

“Let’s drink to that!” Hanna suggests, grabbing her drink and holding it in the air. The other girls do the same and they all clink their glasses together, toasting their friendship.

After a few sips, Hanna puts her glass down. “So, Ali…” She starts. “How’s life back in France?”

“Work, mostly.” Alison replies, her finger absently tracing the rim of her glass. “I’m still adapting, really… It’s been a year already and I still have boxes to unpack spread all over the place.” She says with a chuckle. “What about you girls?”

“Well, I’m currently doing an internship for Nylon.” The other blonde replies chirpily. “But I’ve also been looking into some other places and maybe I’ll get to work for Michael Kors soon! And Spencer’s –”

“I can speak for myself, Han.” Spencer says, earning an eye roll from her friend. “I just got my first real job as a defense attorney for a case.” She proudly reports. 

“You girls know what I’ve been up to.” Aria reports with a smile and half-shrug. Out of the girls, Aria had been the most successful at maintaining contact with everyone, constantly updating her social media and making sure to call her friends at _least_ once a week. “Em?”

The brunette raises her head, startled at the mention of her name. Throughout the conversation her mind couldn’t help but wandering back to something that had happened just a year after they’d finished high school, which made her return to Rosewood sooner than she’d expected.

Her father’s heart condition, which had been under control for a few years, took a sudden turn for worst, leading to his untimely passing during the summer break. All of her friends had been there for her and her mother, both at the funeral and the weeks following it, but time came when they had to follow their separate lives and Emily had to return to college; it had been hard, to say the least.

“I guess everything’s been okay…” Emily quietly replies. Aria gives her a sympathetic nod, feeling a hint of regret for bringing up the topic. Alison’s hand wraps around Emily’s forearm, closer to her wrist, and gives it a gentle squeeze.

On the other side of the table Spencer clears her throat, causing Alison to quickly detach her hand from her friend’s arm and laying it on the table instead. “How are the people in France, Ali?” She says in a teasing tone, trying to lighten the mood. “Tell me your life isn’t all work and no fun now.”

“Well, if you’re asking me if there’s someone special in my life then the answer is no.” The blonde says with a laugh, causing Emily to look at her. “But I _have_ been thinking about maybe getting a cat.”

“A cat, really?” Hanna questions, making a face. “I never took you for a cat person.”

“Who knows?” Alison answers, taking a long sip of her drink. “Maybe I am a cat person.” She continues, her eyes locking with Emily’s. For that second, the air’s charged with possibility, yet Emily’s head seems to be clouded with doubt, unsure of what any of it means. She’s like a deer caught in headlights, ready for a collision that never comes, given that Ali diverts the girls’ attention to somebody else.

“What about you, Hanna?” The blonde says with a knowing smirk. “I heard you’ve been having _plenty_ of fun.”

Her friend meets the question with a shocked expression, faking offense and causing everyone at the table to burst in collective laughter before proceeding to openly talk about her love life. The rest of the night goes by quickly, drinks flowing one after the other as the five girls lose themselves in happy chatter. They tell each other funny-yet-embarrassing stories of their new lives as young adults, and before they know it it’s time to part ways and head back to their former residences.

Although they’ve all had their fair share of drinks, Spencer – who had volunteered to be the designated driver – is still in condition to take everyone home safely. In just a few minutes they’re out of Old Hollis in back in the more familiar streets of Rosewood, where she drops Hanna and Aria off at their places in Turning Leaf Lane. She then makes a turn to her and Ali’s street in Bridgewater Terrace, where her car comes to a stop.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to drop you off at your place?” Spencer questions Emily in concern, who nods ‘no’ as a reply.

“I can walk there.” She says as they exit the vehicle. Her house is within walking distance from her friends’, but both Alison and Spencer don’t feel at ease with the thought of letting her walk home by herself at four in the morning, especially given that she’s had a few drinks.

“Go home, Spence.” Alison murmurs to her friend. “I’ve got this.”

 “Are you sure?” Spencer whispers in reply, and when Alison nods she yawns a lazy ‘goodnight’ to both her friends before heading inside. Emily waves Ali goodbye and begins to walk, but Alison reaches out to stop her before she can make it too far.

“Wait!” The blonde asks as she grabs Emily by the arm, stopping the girl in her tracks. Emily looks at her in confusion, Ali’s hand feeling like a hot iron pressed to her skin. “Why don’t you stay at my place tonight?” She says hesitatingly.

Nervousness creeps up her spine while she considers her friend’s offer. “I really don’t want to be a burden, and my house is just –”

“You’re _not_ a burden.” Ali insists. “Come on, Em. You know it’s too late for any of us to be out there on our own.”

As much as Emily doesn’t think spending the night at Alison’s is a good idea, she knows that fighting the girl would be nothing but a complete waste of time, especially when she knows Alison’s offer comes from a place of concern. Defeated, she heaves out a sigh and follows the blonde to her house.

From the outside, the DiLaurentis residence remains almost the same as it had always been, as if time stood still in that one place. But on the inside, the house has suffered a complete renovation – Kenneth and Jason had left Rosewood shortly after Alison’s high school graduation, leaving the blonde with the house to herself, and Alison made sure to get rid of all the bad memories she had in that place before she went to Europe by throwing almost everything away.

As they walk in, they’re greeted by bright lights and a clean, white hallway leading to the living room. Alison drops her bag and jacket on the couch, instructing Emily to do the same, and removes her heels before heading up the stairs. On the upper level, she leads Emily to her parents’ former bedroom, which she’d turned into a guest room. 

“You can stay here.” She warmly says, walking into the room and towards the dresser. She crouches and pulls out a pair of clean pajamas and hands it to Emily. “There are also some towels in there if you’d like to take a shower and you know where the bathroom is…”

“Thanks.” The brunette replies awkwardly as she takes the pajamas from Alison’s hands. Alison smiles back at her friend, brushing her hand through Emily’s arm as she walks past her and back into the hallway. “Ali, wait –” Emily says, turning around.

Alison stops in the doorway before turning around to face Emily. “Yeah?”

Emily fumbles over the words in her head – she knows what she wants to say, but how can she say it?

“Is there any specific towel I should use?” She mentally slaps herself. That was something she didn’t intend to say. Alison gives her a curious look as if she knew there was more to the question than what Emily was leading on.

“No, any towel is fine.” The blonde finally says with a shrug. Emily nods, watching as Alison leaves the room, and she decides that a shower is exactly what she needs to clean off the shame she’s feeling at the moment.

She waits until she hears the door to Alison’s bedroom close before she makes her way to the bathroom. As she turns on the water, she tries not to make too much noise, figuring her friend must’ve fallen asleep already.

A hot shower felt much needed after the night’s events. Even though alcohol had been the one doing most of the talking – or at least that’s what she tries to blame her embarrassing moment on –, the need she felt to have Alison’s lips on hers was overpowering. She couldn’t pinpoint the last time she’d felt this way about the blonde, but she felt ridiculous seeing how much power Alison still had over her without being aware of it. But she couldn’t get her off her mind, and that was the only thing she could think about even before Alison had found her way to her at the bar.

After a few minutes, Emily turns the knobs to the shower off and wraps the towel that hung from the rack around her body. As she dries off, she remembers she’d left the pajamas Alison had gotten out for her at the end of the bed and groans in annoyance. She opens the bathroom door and peeks around the corner to Alison’s bedroom, just to make sure she doesn’t run into her by accident. When she’s convinced the coast is clear, she makes a beeline for her bedroom.

Shutting the door behind her, she lets out a breath she’s been holding in, finally relaxing in the comfort of being alone for the first time that day. She sighs deeply, throwing the towel to a chair on the side and walking towards the bed, examining the clothes Ali had picked out for her.

She’s walking around the room, trying to find a plug to charge her phone, when the door opens abruptly behind her.

“Em, have you seen my –” Alison begins to stay, but her train of thought comes to a quick stop at the sight of her friend.

Taken off guard by Ali’s sudden entrance, Emily searches frantically for something she can use to cover herself, but ends up using her hands as coverage.

“A-Ali what are you doing here?!” She nearly screams.

“I’m sorry; I thought I’d left my phone in here.” Alison responds, eyes wide as she takes in the view in front of her.

“Well it’s clearly not in here!” Emily’s face turns into a bright shade of red as she watches Alison feel out her pockets and she wishes for a second that the blonde would at _least_ throw her the towel that’s in the chair to her right.

“Funny, I thought I’d left it up here…” She mutters, setting her hands on her hips. She turns and Emily sighs in relief, but when Alison’s hand wraps around the doorknob to close the door with Alison still inside the room, Emily tenses up again.

“I’m trying to get dressed Ali, what do you want?” The brunette asks, getting a hold of the towel and wrapping it around her body.

Alison walks towards her, taking slow, small steps, which causes Emily to back into the bed. The faint smell of alcohol on each other’s breath is intoxicating, growing stronger with their proximity.

“Isn’t it obvious yet?” Alison says, flashing Emily the same smirk she knows drives her absolutely crazy. “I want _you_ , Em. And I know you want me.”

When their bodies meet, Emily feels as if her heart is going to beat its way out of her chest. Her breathing becomes ragged, with Alison closing the little space that’s left between of them.

“So what do you say, Em…” She hears a husky voice whispering in her ear, lips barely grazing her skin, and it sends goose bumps all over her body. “For old time’s sake?”


	2. Chapter 2

As the next morning begins to unfold, the sun starts making its way through the blinds and curtains, casting a slightly shadowed light on the white walls, as well as on the bodies lost in tranquil slumber. The room paints a much different picture than it had the previous day, a perfect display of the chaotic night they’d shared. Alison’s clothes are scattered along the floor, the towel Emily had used next to them. Most of the covers are piled at the end of the bed, leaving Ali and Emily with nothing but thin sheets to cover their naked bodies.

Sunlight seeps through Emily’s eyelids, causing the brunette to stir. As she slowly gains consciousness, the sound of a lawn mower on the Hastings’ property makes it impossible to fall back to sleep. Defeated, she struggles to open one eye and then the other, bothered by the sudden intrusion of light and the headache she begins to feel.

 Memories of the previous night are foggy, and she looks around the room as she tries to piece it all together. She remembers being at the bar, drinking and chatting the night away with her friends, but she can’t remember anything further. Emily grunts in annoyance, disappointed that she hadn’t kept the promise she’d made to herself that night of only having a few drinks. Being a lightweight, she should know better than to let herself get carried away.

It doesn’t take long for her to realize where she is – she knows Alison’s house like the back of her hand, even after the renovations. But the realization doesn’t help calm her and instead has the opposite effect. Slowly, she raises her head from the pillow and looks to her right. Sure enough, Alison’s body lies next to her.

“ _Fuck_.” Emily mutters to herself, turning her head back to the left. She immediately begins to scan the room for her clothes and, once she spots some items, she carefully uncovers her body and sits at the edge of the bed, being particularly cautious so Alison won’t wake up.

She finds her underwear within arm’s reach and begins to put them on, trying not to cause the bed to shift a lot.

“Leaving so soon?” Alison’s raspy voice comes from the pillows behind a panic-stricken Emily. “And here I thought we could squeeze in another round…” Her smirk burns a hole in Emily’s back as she fumbles for her belongings.

The brunette doesn’t exactly know what to say at this point, caught by surprise by Alison being awake. So many things are running through her mind; she just needs to get out of the DiLaurentis’ house immediately, before she says or does something she’ll regret. “Maybe some other time.” She curtly responds.

Sensing Emily’s change in demeanor from the previous night, Alison’s own thoughts begin to race. She sits up in her bed with a hand running through her hair, sheets still covering her chest.

“Em?” The blonde questions, waiting until Emily makes eye contact with her for the first time since she’s woken up. “Did something happen?” She says, evident concern in her voice. She reaches for Emily’s hand, but as soon as their skin comes to contact the brunette pulls away, as if she’d just been burned.

Emily gives Alison a makeshift smile and quickly replies, “No, I’m fine.” To anyone else, the smile would have seemed genuine and the answer would have felt believable; to Alison, she knows there’s much more than Emily’s letting on.

Alison looks away and frowns slightly, which Emily notices.

“What’s wrong?” Emily asks skeptically. She shifts back and forth on her feet absentmindedly, something she usually does whenever she grows anxious.

The blonde snaps her eyes back to Emily’s face. “You just don’t seem to want to be here with me,” she replies honestly.

At this accusation, Emily looks away and takes a deep breath. Seconds pass and Emily begins to shake her head softly.

“Of course I do,” the brunette starts, still not looking Alison in the eye. She knows it doesn’t sound believable, that it’s only half true, but she’s hoping Alison doesn’t push it.

The blonde watches as Emily resumes picking up her scattered belongings.

“Then tell me why you won’t even look at me,” Alison can tell she takes Emily by surprise, however she still doesn’t make eye contact; it’s almost as if Emily’s afraid she’ll turn into solid stone if they lock eyes.

When the last of Emily’s things are gathered up in a bundle in the girl’s arms, the brunette is out of the room and down the stairs before Alison’s mind can even register what’s happening. However, she recalls hearing Emily mutter one last thing before rushing out of the room: “I can’t do this right now.”

As soon as she’s out the front door, Emily begins to make her way down the street and towards her house. Her heart races as she quickly walks past the familiar Victorian houses she’s known her whole life. Sprinkler systems water perfectly trimmed grass and flower beds, causing the summer breeze to smell of wet grass. Children play on the street in front of their residences, unaware of the dangers the town once held.

The brunette quickens her pace once her house comes to view, eager to be in the privacy of her own room. She carefully opens the front door and stops for a couple of seconds, wondering if her mother is still asleep or if she’d gone out. She doesn’t hear anything though, and assumes her mother is outside.

Emily makes her way upstairs and into her bedroom, immediately collapsing onto the bed. Her headache has gotten worse and there’s no denying now she’s hungover. However, she knows her headache is being aggravated by what had just happened in Alison’s house.

“What the fuck was I thinking?” She says to herself. One night – that’s all it took for her to be sucked back into the black hole that is Alison DiLaurentis. Not that she’d ever gotten out of it, but it pains her that she keeps falling for it – for _her_ – over and over again.

Things with Alison, they were just… Complicated, to say the least. They’ve always been, and Emily knows they’re both to blame for it.

It’s not the first time the two of them have fallen into bed – it has happened before, more times than the two would ever admit. During their college years, the girls had gotten together every time they’d had a break. But every time, there had been a constant: they would never talk about it. And for a while, it had worked for the both of them, Emily being satisfied with the proximity and Alison being content with the lack of commitment the ‘relationship’ provided her; but this time things feel different.

_Sometime during Alison’s second year of college, Emily finds herself and the blonde acting like nothing had ever changed between them – like feelings between them had never grown or shrunk or, maybe, even existed at all. In Emily’s mind, that could be a good thing; there’s nothing to worry about or over think like she used to do constantly._

_Things were going great when it came to Alison, actually. For the last year or so, they’ve been able to push aside whatever was there before and move on in the form of enjoying their last solid years together. Emily wouldn’t exactly peg Alison as the cliché college girl ever since she slightly matured after everything that had happened, but the blonde would still enjoy heading out to parties pretty frequently and Emily would often tag along per Alison’s request or, sometimes, demand._

_Tonight is nothing different; Alison had simply spoken sweeter than normal and swayed her hips a little more in an attempt to convince an already willing Emily to accompany her to some campus party. The only nagging thought that had the ability to change Emily’s mind was the fact that, more often than not, the two ended up in bed together by the end of the night. It’s never a bad thing, obviously, but it always brings up those unwanted and unanswered questions regarding what means something or what means nothing, however Emily is much better at pushing them away now than she used to be when she was a love-struck teenager._

_Emily keeps a grip on her cup as she pushes through the crowded rooms in what appears to be one of the college’s more popular sorority houses. She had lost a talkative Alison in a sea of loud, incoherent college kids about ten minutes ago and wasn’t exactly keen on the idea of leaving her here – not that she ever would._

_Just as she’s about to head up the old, wooden stairs, Emily feels a soft hand gently grab hold of her wrist, followed by a small tug backwards. As she turns around, she’s met with the blue eyes that she’s come to know so well. The brunette lets out a laugh and lightly smirks as she takes in Alison’s state of tipsiness: her eyes are shining and her cheeks are flush from the combination of alcohol and the room’s warm temperature. The blonde returns a smirk – her smirk – and eyes Emily thoroughly, possibly allowing her eyes to linger for a split second more than she should have, but neither of them are complaining. Emily had decided to wear very short shorts and an oversized tank top, slightly exposing her casual black sports bra._

_Blaring music flows throughout the house, filling every room with quick beats of “Talking Body” by Tove Lo accompanied by distant shouts and cheering coming from the front yard. Alison continues to stare at Emily’s lips for a few more seconds, knowing that no one is really paying much attention to them._

_After high school, Alison intentionally lost her ‘royal’ status so she could become a normal, fun-loving girl that wouldn’t be fawned over wherever she went. Quite frankly, she just wanted the silly, immature teenage years that she had missed out on; she used to wish that she was able to act like a dork without being scrutinized and judged ten times more than the average teenage girl. Since she wiped her slate clean, Alison had been able to enjoy the small things without feeling as though she’s under a microscope and, if Emily’s being honest, she’s proud of the blonde for being able to change from being self-centered and image-obsessed to hard-working and self-driven in the course of a few years._

_Emily breaks out of her thoughts when she feels Alison’s hand grip hers. The brunette doesn’t even really question Alison anymore when it comes to these parties; she’s just happy to be there with her. As she’s pulled along by the other girl, Emily quickly catches a glimpse of what Alison’s wearing: an off-white, short dress with semi-wide, lace shoulder straps and a small belt just above where the dress begins to slightly flow.  The front of the dress has a deep V-neck being nicely complimented by a simple necklace that Emily had given her years ago – a small moonstone pendant strung on a thin, silver chain._

_Emily lets her eyes drift downwards for a split second to admire Ali’s figure from behind, which the blonde seems to catch due to looking back at Emily at just the right moment. Alison giggles and shakes her head while continuing to drag the now red-faced girl through the crowd of party-goers. Years have passed since high school, yet Emily still isn’t more subtle with her glances._

_The two finally reach the house’s quiet patio away from the rest of the crowd. Alison laces their fingers together and smiles at Emily, tipsiness very apparent. The blonde’s grip loosens up on Emily’s wrist, her hand gliding up the other girl’s arm before taking a small step closer before leaning in to whisper in the brunette’s ear._

_“Take me home,” she breathes out. To Emily, it sounds like a half-demand, half-suggestion, but she wasn’t able to deny that request either way; that’s all it ever takes to spark something._

_“Okay,” Emily whispers back before extending her hand for Alison to take. The blonde accepts the gesture and the pair begins walking towards Alison’s college dorm._

_The walk is never that long, no matter where the party is held since the campus isn’t all that big. Actually, the walk would be even shorter if it wasn’t for the unoccupied squares of land in between sidewalks and buildings._

_After ten or so minutes, Alison is unlocking her room and Emily follows her into the small room adorned with old pictures and simplistic décor. Though Emily has gotten used to the room and, honestly, the whole campus, she still studies the pictures on the wall. She recalls the many repetitive conversations that she and Alison had regarding their favorite picture: a picture of all five of them when they were younger. One day a few months ago, the two had actually just sat on the bed, laughing about old memories from high school._

_Emily is, once again, lost in her thoughts until she hears a chuckle from beside her. She whips her head around to see Alison with another smirk on her face, her eyes intensely set on Emily. It isn’t until Alison strides towards Emily that the brunette internally questions the blonde’s intentions for the rest of the night; however she quickly realizes that she doesn’t have the time to get a single word out before Alison’s kissing her hard._

_She holds herself back at first, out of instinct, but ultimately decides ‘fuck it’. This is just another thing she’s become accustomed to, over the past few years._

_“And before you ask, my roommate is gone for the night,” the blonde breaks her lips from Emily’s for a second before kissing her harder._

_The sudden shared information makes Emily giggle into the other girl’s mouth because, really, there have been too many times when she’s had to nearly kill the mood in order to ask._

_The two continue to heat up and Emily’s lingering thoughts begin to die down as Alison pushes her back towards the bed so she can climb on top of the brunette, silencing all of the remaining morally correct voices inside her head. With the blonde straddling her, Emily finds herself paying great attention to the way Alison’s mouth gradually makes its way down her neck in order to take her sweet time alternating between bites and open-mouthed kisses. In return, she slides her hands down the other girl’s sides and lower back before scratching her nails along Alison’s exposed thighs, earning an abrupt moan from the blonde who brings her face back to Emily’s before tugging on her lower lip._

_As Emily’s nails scratch up and down Alison’s inner thighs, the brunette can feel the other girl begin to grind against her stomach which only encourages her more. While Alison continues to kiss Emily hard as she moves her body to create more friction, Emily uses the distraction to reach behind Alison’s neck and unzip her dress before flipping them over._

_The two girls keep eye contact as Emily slides the dress off of Alison and before the dress can even make it to the floor, Alison is tugging at Emily’s shirt and pulling the brunette back on top of her to finish what they started._

Emily groans into her pillow, clearly annoyed. She wasn’t planning on thinking about past memories like these ever again, but they always find a way back to her, whether she likes it or not.

The brunette shifts so she’s sitting against the headboard, figuring that she’s not going to get any rest either way. As her headache begins to tone down, memories from the previous night start creeping in, becoming clearer as each piece falls into its respective place.

She remembers lying on the bed, Alison’s body pressed closely against her own as the blonde planted open-mouthed kisses down her neck and collarbones. Alison would occasionally bite down on her skin, soothing it with her tongue afterwards and eliciting loud, long moans from Emily. The brunette shifted under Alison in an attempt to gain more friction, and that had been the moment Alison had abruptly stopped and pulled back, catching Emily by surprise.

Alison sat back, straddling Emily, and looked into the other girl’s eyes with concern. The confusion in Emily’s face is clear as she frowns and Alison can’t help but offering her a comforting smile, letting her hands rest on the brunette’s bare stomach.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Alison questioned the girl beneath her, biting down on her lip while paying close attention to Emily’s expression.

Emily was stunned for a few seconds. She wasn’t expecting such a great form of care from the blonde. Normally, Emily would be the one to tread lightly before continuing. Truth be told, Alison had not shown anything that could potentially be interpreted into a form of care during their activities prior; it was always strictly for a form of release.

The brunette nodded slowly, giving Alison the confirmation she needed to continue. The girl let out a small sigh, as if she was relieved Emily hadn’t said ‘no’, and most her hesitation seemed to go away. She cautiously moved her hands to Emily’s sides, lowering herself to place a gentle kiss on the brunette’s lips only to deepen it just seconds later.

The blonde’s hands started to trace down Emily’s abdomen slowly; she wanted it to be a lasting memory that was etched into the brunette’s mind for the rest of her life. A low moan escaped from her mouth, lingering on her lips. There was a different mood that night, not like other times they’d shared before, where it lasted for the night and they never spoke about it again; she was being genuine, this time around. Alison leaned down lower into Emily, hovering just barely above her sweltering body, and grabbed one of the brunette’s hands, intertwining their fingers.

A hand slowly trailed up to her chest, a gulp erupting from Emily’s throat. When was the last time they’d taken things slow, again? Emily’s eyes followed her hand as it treaded up to one of her breasts, extending her fingers over her nipple. A rough gasp exhaled from the brunette’s mouth as the room progressively felt warmer.

“Is this okay?” Alison whispered before pulling up to look at Emily. The other girl didn’t trust her voice so she settled with a nod. The blonde removed her hand and replaced her fingers with her tongue, wanting to pleasure the brunette in every possible way.

Soft moans erupted from her mouth, as she remembers that they were actually alone, however she didn’t want to get too loud too soon. It was hard, though, as Alison’s tongue flickered across the hardened nub, taking it in her mouth and gently tugging on it.

Once she thought she’d finished her work, she’d kissed her way up Emily’s chest with open-mouthed kisses, leaving her shivering and needing more. There was a sudden stop of all movements, causing Emily to perk up at the silence. Her eyes met blue, and she noticed the reddening on the blonde’s cheeks.

“Are _you_ okay?” Emily had asked carefully.

Alison inhaled before nodding. “I’m fine, really.” Emily offered her a smile before Alison placed a kiss on her lips, one that left them swollen and bruised.

She felt the blonde’s lips glide over her cheek, kissing from her ear down to her neck. From an early start, Alison had found out all of Emily’s weakest points the same way Emily knew hers, and it’s unbelievable how fast they could get each other to their high. The blonde found one of the spots and gently bit down, causing a loud moan to escape Emily’s lips. It felt crazy, the way Alison could always make her feel like that in a matter of seconds.

“Wait.” Emily stopped the blonde from going any further. “You’re forgetting something…” She reached down to the hem of Alison’s shirt, lightly lifting it over the girl’s body, careful not to disturb the mood.

Once the blonde was in nothing but her underwear, Emily made an attempt at flipping them over. She gently moved her hand to Alison’s back, slowly pushing her to the side, but Alison was quick to shove her back, hell-bent on making the night all about the girl in-between her legs. The brunette tries to protest but is met with a ‘ _sh_ ’ from the blonde. She fell back defeated, but not before ‘accidentally’ moving her knee over and pressing against Ali’s center, causing the girl to inhale sharply.

Emily’s hands moved to the other girl’s thighs, steadying her. Once Alison was able to catch her breath she shook her head playfully, smiling as she pulled in her bottom lip and looked at Emily in a way she’d never done before. She eyed her up and down, admiring her body like it was a work of art. And maybe it was, in her books – Emily’s the most beautiful person Ali’s ever laid eyes on, and she was grateful to have her in that moment.

The brunette’s fingernails met the inside of Alison’s thighs, dragging lazily across them while Emily applied some pressure on the sensitive skin, causing the blonde to moan. She closed her eyes for a second, wanting the teasing to last forever, and whimpered once Emily’s hands went too far up.

For the rest of the night, Alison had tended to Emily’s needs more than her own. She made sure to take things slow and listen to the other girl, obliging to her requests, as if to make up for the eight months they’d been apart. Even though she was listening to each of Emily’s commands she made an exception, refusing to bring the girl to the edge and dragging it out through an excruciating amount of time.

Emily breaks out of her thoughts once her phone rings, her heart racing. She picks her purse from where she’d left it on her bedroom floor and fumbles in search of the device, coming to a stop once she finally holds it in her hands. She looks at the caller ID in confusion, not expecting that the blonde calling her would be Hanna.

“Hello?” Emily asks as she answers the phone, running a hand through her hair as she tries to sound composed.

“Hey Em,” Hanna replies nonchalantly. “I was just wondering; do you need a ride to Aria’s gallery opening?”

“Aria’s gallery opening?” The brunette repeats her friend’s words, pulling the phone away from her face to check the date. _‘Shit,’_ she thinks, having completely forgotten about it. “Sure, I guess.”

“Good!” The blonde says chirpily, seemingly oblivious to Emily’s lack of excitement. Not that she’d care, though. Hanna would drag Emily to the event if she had to. “I’ll pick you up at seven?”

“I’ll see you then,” She says. _‘But not before a cold shower.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for your love! It's been a while, but here's chapter two. I hope you enjoy it!  
> A big thank you to Alyssa, Sabrina and Jay for helping out!

**Author's Note:**

> A.N.: Special thanks to my loves Alyssa, Sabrina and Jay for making this one-shot possible. Believe me when I say I wouldn't have finished it without them. Xo


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